


The Surprise

by ChillieBean



Series: Be Here Now [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Birthday Party!, M/M, Mentions of alcohol, Pining, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 20:19:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12919503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChillieBean/pseuds/ChillieBean
Summary: Hanzo's birthday is a closely guarded secret, something only he and Genji know....Or so he thought.





	The Surprise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Magisey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magisey/gifts).



> Happy birthday, my lovely! My gift to you ❤️❤️❤️

Hanzo sighs, walking down the quiet corridors of the Watchpoint.

So far, today has been surprisingly good. He managed to get in some good training at the shooting range, showing off his skills to Jesse. Hanzo could live on that low, appreciative whistle Jesse gives whenever he lands a perfect headshot mid twist, and can practically hear the smooth drawl, _“Pretty handy with that bow,”_ as if the man was standing right beside him now.

He blushes at the thought of the cowboy. What started as a bit of a cold introduction has actually developed into a good friendship. At first, Hanzo found Jesse too loud, too boisterous for his liking. Hanzo had spent a good ten years living in solitude, and a larger-than-life American dressed as a cowboy was just too much for him to handle.

At first, anyway. Sick of dealing with his insomnia by staring at the grey ceiling, one morning at the horrid hour of two forty-five, he decided to make himself a cup of tea. He had been with Overwatch for two weeks at that stage and most of everyone was keeping their distance. Rightly so; Hanzo showed little intention of talking with them in a social setting. He avoided any group meals or activities, instead spending his time either in the gym, training room or perched on the roof for the solitude.

So at that hour of the morning, he was expecting the Watchpoint to be asleep, giving him the freedom to walk around and enjoy the silence. Approaching the mess hall, he noticed the lights were on in the common room, and could hear the sound of the TV playing softly. He had expected whoever it was to have fallen asleep, and he intended on leaving them there.

What he was not expecting however, was a fully awake Jesse, drinking a bottle of whiskey and watching Hanzo’s favourite movie, Seven Samurai. Torn between sneaking back to his room and staying to watch the movie, he stood frozen, just outside the common room door.

It was all decided for him when Jesse called him in, without even glancing over his shoulder. Hanzo reluctantly sat down and from there they had a fairly deep and meaningful conversation about life. Hanzo realised after spending the morning drinking and talking that there was more to the cowboy than the cheerful and loud exterior he carries; that deep down he is just as vulnerable as Hanzo.

Movie night became a once-weekly thing after that. They wait until after midnight when most of the Watchpoint was asleep as to not be disturbed, put on a movie with the intention of watching it, but instead just end up talking all the way through it.

Now three months in and officially an agent of Overwatch, Hanzo feels somewhat excited and nervous about tonight’s movie night. Jesse insisted they bring it forward to a more respectable eight o’clock because they leave for a mission in Germany in the morning, and Jesse did not want to cancel it.

The reason why Hanzo’s so nervous about it though, is because today also happens to be his birthday; not that he would tell Jesse that. Probably... He is still deciding if he will. A part of him wants to, the other part does not want the attention, because he has seen how birthday parties here are; there is too much noise and drinking and happy faces, and Hanzo cannot deal with that level of attention. He has not celebrated his birthday in ten years, and does not want to start now.

Even though a small, niggling part of him wants to.

It will not happen though. He swore Genji to secrecy and intentionally left his birthday out of his bio; the only detail he provided was the year he was born.

Opting to not think any more about it as he approaches the common room, he focuses instead on figuring out which movie Jesse has selected for tonight. Not that Jesse has left him the usual easy-to-figure-out cryptic clues to the movie; in fact, Jesse had said _nothing_ about the movie they would be watching, which is odd in itself.

He pokes his head through the common room door and sees Jesse sitting on the couch, hunched over a tablet, scrolling through a list while stroking his beard.

“Good evening,” Hanzo says, approaching the man and taking a seat next to him. He is looking through a list of science fiction movies today.

“Evenin’. I hope you’re in the mood for a TV show.” Jesse turns to him and grins.

Hanzo smiles, looking back at the list and hoping the red in his cheeks is not obvious. He can officially say he is a thirty-nine year old man with a crush, and it is embarrassing. “Well that depends on the TV show.”

“It’s called Firefly. Got cowboys in space!”

Hanzo turns to Jesse, looking at him deadpan. “Cowboys? In space?”

“Well, not literal horse ridin’ cowboys, but it’s definitely got a western theme to it.” Jesse turns to him, their knees brush together, and Hanzo cannot contain the smile. “You’ll love it, trust me.”

“Very well,” Hanzo says, nodding. The premise does not appeal to him, though if tonight is like every other night, they will be talking ten minutes into the first episode and it would not matter anyway.

“There’s fifteen episodes in the first season, and I know we’re not gonna watch that many tonight, but I’m thinkin’ of startin’ with an Irish coffee,” Jesse says, picking up the bottle of whiskey off the table. “Coffee, whiskey and cream. You in?”

Hanzo grins. “That sounds good, actually.”

“Perfect,” Jesse says, standing up. “Care to join me? I can whip us up some popcorn, too.”

Hanzo nods, standing up and following Jesse. “How many episodes do you suppose we will watch tonight?”

“Maybe half? Can stop around episode six or seven.”

Hanzo nods, approaching the mess hall. The lights are off, which is peculiar given it is early in the evening. In fact, it has been too quiet in the last half an hour, he has not seen anyone, aside from Jesse.

_Oh no..._

Slowing his pace, Hanzo allows Jesse to lead. Jesse places a hand on the door, looking back. “You okay, Hanzo?”

 _They know. They are all on the other side of the door_.

Hanzo takes a breath and looks at Jesse. “I am fine.”

“All right.” Jesse opens the door and holds it. “After you.”

Hanzo steps through the door, the room is completely dark. He waits… and nothing. He sighs a breath of relief, saying, “Athena, can you---”

“SURPRISE!!”

Hanzo starts as the lights turn on; Jesse chuckles and drapes his arm Hanzo’s shoulders. Hanzo looks from Jesse to the rest of the agents - Winston, Angela, Hana, Lena, Reinhardt, Torbjörn, Ana and Genji who are all wearing party hats, then to the banner, reading “Happy Birthday, Hanzo” on it, to the large box sitting at the end of the table, wrapped in blue wrapping paper with a red bow on the top.

He sees Genji approach, grin on his face. As much as he wants to be annoyed that Genji probably orchestrated this whole thing, he cannot help but smile. “Why I thought you would be able to keep a secret is beyond me,” Hanzo mutters.

“Oh, don’t be a sourpuss. They wanted to know so I told them.”

“Genji, I am not…” Hanzo trails off as Genji places a party hat on Hanzo’s head. The smile on Genji’s face is something he has missed, and something he is doing more since they have started to reconcile. “Thank you, Genji.”

“You are welcome, anija. Though the surprise party idea was Jesse’s.”

Hanzo smiles, looking at Jesse. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Everyone loves a good surprise party.”

“I joked that it was a bad idea,” Genji says, placing a hand on Hanzo’s shoulder, “that you would go full ninja on us if you were startled.”

“Lucky for all of you I had it figured out.” Hanzo says confidently, lifting his head.

Genji laughs. “I told you he would work it out.”

When Hanzo looks at Jesse, a frown teasing his features, Hanzo says, “It was too quiet.”

Jesse chuckles, rubbing the back of his head. “One of the downsides of livin’ on base, I guess.”

Genji links his arm around Hanzo’s. “Come look, Reinhardt baked you a cake.”

Grinning, Hanzo falls in step with Genji. “Reinhardt?”

“Yep,” Jesse says, bringing his hand down, settling on Hanzo’s back, right between his shoulder blades. “He’s a fairly decent baker.”

“Genji said your favourite is strawberry shortcake,” Reinhardt says cheerfully as Hanzo approaches the table. “I hope it is to your liking!”

Hanzo looks at the cake and his mouth waters. The double layered cake is full of cream and strawberries and the top is _coated_ in icing sugar. He has been craving strawberry shortcake since last Christmas and this could not have come at a better time. “Thank you, Reinhardt.” He then turns to the small group. “Thank you, everyone. You did not have to go to the trouble.”

“Oh, nonsense love!” Lena pipes up, handing Hanzo a knife for the cake. “You’re one of the team now. But before you cut into the cake…”

Hanzo watches as everyone sings happy birthday. He feels a blush creep over his cheeks and he shrinks down a little, this amount of attention is just bordering on too much for him. He then realises Jesse’s hand has not left his back, he looks up at the man who winks as the song concludes, and Hanzo cannot contain the smile that blooms from his lips.

Turning his attention back to the cake, he cuts a slice and everyone cheers. Hanzo cuts slices of cake and places them on the plates as Jesse holds them out, handing them out.

Hanzo cuts into the cake with his spoon, eating the piece. He nods in approval, turning to Reinhardt. “This is amazing, Reinhardt. Thank you.”

“I am very happy you like it!” He claps Hanzo on the back and Hanzo is pushed forward; clearly the man is unaware of his own strength. He shakes his head, eating the last of his cake while he eyes the large present sitting at the other end of the table. _What could they have possibly got that is that large?_

Hanzo is broken from his thoughts by clapping. He looks at Jesse, grinning back at him as he says, “Time for the big reveal, I think!” Walking to the other end of the table, Jesse places his hands on either side of the box and waits for the room to quieten down.

Genji takes a seat next to Hanzo, nudging him with his shoulder. “When everyone asked what you wanted for your birthday, I immediately said ‘nothing, he does not celebrate and he would not like a gift’, and they nearly pummeled me.” He picks up a bag and hands it to Hanzo. “They clearly do not get your sense of humour. And because it is my goal in life to go against your wishes, this is from me.”

Hanzo looks into the bag, eyeing a very expensive looking sake jug and sake cups, and an exact match to his favourite set that he had in Japan. He looks at Genji before pulling him in for a hug. “Thank you, Genji,” he whispers.

Genji nods, pulling away. “So, they asked if you had a hobby in Japan. It took a couple trips into town, but…” Genji gestures to the box with his hand and Jesse lifts it, revealing a small wooden tiered stand with six different indoor bonsai plants on them. “...You can set them up wherever you want. In your room, in the common room, in here.”

Hanzo’s eyes well with tears, and he looks away in an attempt to stop from breaking down in front of everyone. “Thank you,” he says, coming out in nearly a whisper, before clearing his throat. “Thank you,” he repeats, standing up. “Really, you did not need to go to the trouble.”

“You can keep saying that,” Lena says, wrapping her arm around his shoulders, “but this is what friends do. We look out for each other.”

Hanzo embraces her, and she kisses his cheek. From there, everyone gives him a hug, with the exception of Jesse, who offers a handshake, much to Hanzo’s slight disappointment.

“Don’t think we’re still not on for Firefly after this.”

Hanzo smiles. “I am looking forward to it.”

“Now, I believe I owe you one Irish coffee,” Jesse says, clapping Hanzo’s shoulder before walking into the kitchen.

Hanzo sits back and watches everyone in the meantime; talking and laughing while eating their cake. He reflects; and can start to see a future where he _actually_ did belong with this ragtag group of people.

“Here you go,” Jesse says, handing Hanzo the drink, “one Irish coffee.” He sits down next to Hanzo, and Hanzo cannot contain his laughter at the sight of Jesse wearing a party hat _on top_ of his Stetson.

"Do you ever remove your hat?"

Jesse chuckles. "Never. Only time I don't wear it is when sleeping or showering." He holds out his mug. “Happy birthday.”

Hanzo bows his head and clinks his mug against Jesse’s. They spend the rest of the evening in their corner of the room, talking and watching the party slowly dwindle as they start to peel away for the night. He yawns as he says good night to Genji, the last of the group to leave.

“I think perhaps we should raincheck on Firefly,” Jesse says. “You’re lookin’ like you’re struggling to keep your eyes open.”

Hanzo looks at Jesse. He forgot how exhausting talking and smiling can actually be. “I am quite tired, yes. After the mission?”

“You betchya.” Jesse looks at the plants. “Have you decided where you want to put your plants?”

Hanzo smiles. “I think I will put them in my room for the moment. Looking after them takes a lot of care and I do not wish to bother people with them.” It is also partly because he likes to talk to the plants, but he is not going to tell anyone about that.

“No problems. Want a hand carryin’ them back to your room?”

“Yes, please.”

Jesse upturns the box, placing the plants in there while Hanzo carries the stand. He will place them on his desk; it gets enough sunlight that they should thrive.

Stopping outside his quarters, Hanzo inputs the code and the doors open. He places the stand just inside his door and takes the box from Jesse.

“Thank you for tonight,” Hanzo says, smiling.

“It’s nothin’ at all.” Jesse leans down, placing a hand on Hanzo's bicep before kissing his cheek. Jesse holds there for a moment, and it feels as if time stands still. He savours the warmness of his cheek, the tickle of his beard, and all to quickly it's over. Hanzo swallows the lump in his throat as Jesse pulls away, tipping his hat.

“Happy birthday, Han.”

Hanzo watches as Jesse walks away, disappearing around a corner. He brushes his fingertips on his cheek, relishing the residual touch. 

Nothing will ever wipe the smile off his face.


End file.
